A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

奥斯卡秘密投票揭示激烈的电影竞争
Oscar Secret Ballots — Sinners vs One Battle After Another in Tight Best Picture Race
About this story
Oscar secret ballots show a tight Best Picture race between Sinners with Michael B. Jordan and One Battle After Another. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 8 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 16 key vocabulary words such as 比赛、决定、秘密 and walks through 5 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Speaking of this year's biggest American movie competition, the situation is even more interesting.
We are all watching the Oscars.
The Oscar is America's most famous movie award.
Every year, this is a big event.
Many people who make movies want to get this award.
Getting first place is a very happy thing.
But, who decides who is first place?
It is decided by many people together.
We want to call these people "voters".
They watch the movies, then write down the names they like.
Usually, this is secret.
No one knows who chose whom.
No one knows whose name is on the paper.
But this year, some things are different.
Some voters have spoken.
They told reporters who they chose.
They did not tell reporters their own names.
But they told the truth.
This is called "anonymous voting".
The meaning is, I don't tell you who I am, but I tell you what I think.
These words let us see many things.
We saw what movies people truly like.
We also saw the movies they don't like.
Now, the competition is very intense.
This is a competition between two movies.
It seems like only these two movies are running.
The first movie is called "The Guilty".
The second movie is called "Battle After Battle".
These are the two biggest names.
Many people like "The Guilty".
There are also many people who like "Battle After Battle".
These two movies are really different.
Some people feel "The Guilty" is better to watch.
They feel this movie makes people very excited.
They feel the story is very new.
But, other people disagree.
They feel "Battle After Battle" is actually the best.
They feel that movie is more interesting.
So, everyone is thinking, who will win in the end?
It is really hard to say.
Because there are many people on both sides.
This is why we say the race is very "tight".
Just like two people running, they run equally fast.
You don't know who will reach the finish line first.
Besides the best movie, there is also the best actor.
This is also a big question.
In "The Guilty", there is an actor called Michael B. Jordan.
Many people like him very much.
Everyone feels he acted very well.
He might really be first place.
But, there are other actors.
For example, Leonardo DiCaprio.
He is in "Battle After Battle".
He is also a very famous actor.
Everyone recognizes him.
So, the voters also find it hard to choose.
Some people want to choose Leonardo in their hearts.
But in the end, he wrote Michael's name on the paper.
This is strange, isn't it?
This is human psychology.
Sometimes you want to do one thing, but do another thing.
This is what those people speaking secretly told us.
They said: "I think that movie will win, but I chose this one."
This lets us know that the competition has not ended yet.
There is another interesting thing.
It is about the time of watching movies.
This year there is a new rule.
Before, voters did not have to watch all the movies.
They could just watch a few.
But now it is different.
Now, if you want to vote, you must finish watching all the movies.
This is for fairness.
This is like a teacher giving homework to students.
You must finish homework before you can go out to play.
So, many voters are very busy.
They have to watch many, many hours of movies.
Some movies are very long.
Some movies are hard to understand.
Some people only finished watching on the last day.
This is called "doing homework".
Because of this new rule, some things have changed.
Some people originally didn't know some new actors.
But because they had to watch the movies, they got to know them.
For example, an actress named Jessie Buckley.
Because everyone watched her movie in the last few days.
So many people started to like her.
This might be helpful to her.
This is the problem of time.
If you watch early, you might forget.
If you watch late, you remember very clearly.
So in the last few days, people's thoughts will change.
There is also an actor named Sean Penn.
In the last two days, many people suddenly started saying he is good.
Before, no one spoke of him.
But when it was about to end, everyone watched his movie.
So his votes also became more.
This is the competition.
It is changing every minute.
Those people speaking secretly also have times when they are unhappy.
They will say bad words.
For example, someone said this year's movies are all not too good.
Someone said: "I don't like that movie, it's too long."
Someone else said: "That movie is not interesting at all."
Because no one knows their names, so they dare to speak.
If everyone knew who he was, he might not say it.
This is the benefit of "anonymity".
We can hear real voices.
We can know what everyone is really thinking.
This is more interesting than just reading news in the newspaper.
People in newspapers always say good words.
But voters will tell the truth.
In this competition, there are many other things.
For example, whether the music in the movie is pleasant to listen to.
Whether the clothes in the movie are beautiful.
These all have to be chosen.
In these small competitions, "The Guilty" is also very fierce.
Many people like its look.
Many people like its sound.
So, "The Guilty" might take many awards.
But is the biggest award it?
It is hard to say.
Because "Battle After Battle" is also very strong.
It also has many people supporting it.
Especially some older people.
They might prefer stories like that.
So, the current Oscars are just like fighting a war.
On one side is "The Guilty".
On one side is "Battle After Battle".
Everyone is watching.
Everyone is guessing.
This is the story of the "anonymous ballots" we just spoke about.
This is actually a competition about the movies "The Guilty" and "Battle After Battle".
Although we don't know the final result.
But through these secret words, we know a lot.
We know how people think.
We know who might win.
This makes watching movies become more interesting.
Because this is not just watching movies.
This is also watching how people choose.
This is the game of the movie world.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇A contest or competition. Measure word: 场 (chǎng).
To make a choice or decision about something.
Something kept hidden or unexplained.
To achieve victory in a competition or game.
To come to a stop or conclude.
Indicates a necessity or obligation.
Used to express that there is nothing else except the mentioned item.
Invariably; all the time.
Treatment that is just and free from bias.
An authoritative rule or instruction.
Without a name; keeping identity secret.
To cast a ballot or express a choice in an election.
Describes actions or feelings that are sharp, acute, or violent (often used for competition).
A person who writes news for the media.
Mental state or psychological process.
The act of competing against others.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法除了... 还有...
This pattern means "Besides... there is also...". It is used to add information.
除了最好的电影,还有最好的男演员。
如果... (就)...
A conditional structure meaning "If... (then)...". The 'jiù' is sometimes omitted or implied.
如果你想投票,你必须看完所有的电影。
如果大家都知道他是谁,他可能就不说了。
把 / 让 Structure (Causative)
Using '让' (ràng) to indicate causing or letting someone do something.
这些话让我们看到了很多东西。
这让看电影变得更有意思了。
A 比 B + Adjective
Comparison structure used to say A is more [adjective] than B.
这比只看报纸上的新闻有意思。
是... 的
A structure used to emphasize a specific detail (like time, place, manner, or agent) of a past event or established fact.
是有很多人一起决定的。
这就是我们刚才说的“匿名选票”的故事。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
来源Free account
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